Getting Dirty... Briones Regional ParkContra Costa County, CA

I was first introduced to the East Bay’s Briones Regional Park on horseback. The three-hour early-spring ride covered nearly five miles, with views of the Carquinez Straits and Mount Diablo from the grass-covered hilltops, and canopied forests in the lower portions. I returned the following day to enjoy the same route on foot, covering the distance in under one hour.

I did not carry a trail map with me on the run, preferring to rely on my memory from the ride—not always a wise decision in unfamiliar territory, but in this case my sense of direction did not fail me. Concentrating more on my footing than worrying about my steed galloping across the fields to escape an approaching bovine, I took some breaks to enjoy the scenery and marvel at the varied terrain, which looked quite different from yesterday’s vantage point. The footing included groomed dirt and crushed gravel, single-track trails amid grassy slopes layered with prairie dog holes, leaf-strewn muddy paths, and a few rocks and exposed tree roots. Running revealed the elevation changes, and there seemed to be more uphill sections than I had remembered, making the level section all the more welcome. I also noticed trails winding even higher and adjoining trails that splintered off in different directions from the main route, a sure sign that further exploration was in order.

Consulting a map later that day I located five different entrances to the park which included 5,756 acres—about nine square miles—of trails with elevations ranging from a few hundred feet to a high point of 1,483 feet. During my 18-month stay in the Bay Area there were many return visits to Briones with runs originating from each of the staging areas. The look of the terrain changed with the seasons—extremely green, muddy and wet in the winter, and bone dry and brown in the heat of summer. The wooded areas provided a respite from the sun in the summer and retained some heat in the winter. Microclimates were standard in the winter months, ranging from fog in the higher sections to rain and an occasional peak of sunshine on the lower portions. Of course there were some inherent dangers on the trails, including snakes, poison oak, tics and skunks, but these are just part of the territory. Of lesser danger were the grazing cattle, prairie dogs and geese.

The trails provide excellent training for local races like the Dipsea, with gut-wrenching uphills, screamer downhills and lots of open, level terrain. I often did intervals on the long uphill sections, and learned to navigate the winding single-tracks through the woods. I was comfortable running the trails alone, but enjoyed the experience much more with my husband or with the Diablo Road Runners, a local club who often scheduled runs in Briones. Running with a group introduced me to several different routes in the park that I added to my training regimen.

After enjoying Briones, there were many other parks to experience. The greatest feature of the East Bay trails is the linkage between the parks. It is a true system with 59 parks and 29 regional inter-park trails covering more than 91,000 acres in Alameda and Contra Costa counties (visit www.ebparks.org).

To get a great feel for the trails in the East Bay, enter the inaugural Golden Hills Marathon on October 11, directed by experienced trail racers Carl Andersen and Ann Trason. All but one mile of the 26-mile point-to-point route is run through East Bay Regional Parks (Tilden, Sibley, Huckleberry, Redwood, Anthony Chabot and Lake Chabot) with the remaining mile in water district land. The race will be held in conjunction with the ever-popular Dick Collins Firetrails 50 Miler. For more information, visit home.earthlink.net/~anncarl.

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